A DONATION of a medical equipment by a foreign donor in 2012 was supposed to cost Butuan City nothing but it proved costly for former mayor Ferdinand M. Amante Jr. who has been convicted of two counts of graft by the Sandiganbayan.
In its 54-page decision promulgated October 14, 2022, the anti-graft court’s Third Division held Amante guilty of gross inexcusable negligence for approving payment of public funds for what should have been a free hospital equipment and of binding the city government to a grossly disadvantageous contract.
Amante was sentenced to imprisonment for six to eight years for each count of graft, or a total of 12 to 16 years. The Sandiganbayan likewise imposed a perpetual disqualification from holding public office.
Associate Justice Bernelito R. Fernandez penned the ruling with Presiding Justice Amparo M. Cabotaje-Tang and Associate Justice Ronald B. Moreno concurring.
Records showed the World Medical Relief Inc. (WMRI), a charity organization based in Michigan, donated a used Positron Emission Tomography- Computerized Tomography (PET-CT) scan machine intended for the Butuan City Medical Center.
In convicting the former mayor, the court noted that the Deed of Donation dated April 15, 2013 specifically provided that the donation does not involve any consideration in any amount.
However, Butuan Medical Center was still required to pay P11.7 million of which the city government shouldered P7.7 million while Senators Pia and Alan Peter Cayetano paid the balance.
Worse, the equipment turned out to be inoperable, a detail that Amante failed to ascertain despite the requirement under the Government Auditing Code that the head of a government agency is primarily responsible for ensuring compliance with pertinent laws and regulations.
“This Court finds that the actions of accused Amante Jr. caused undue injury to the government… when accused failed to ensure that the subject PET-CT scan machine was functioning before allowing its importation into the Philippines,” the court pointed out.
